Radio tuning device



Feb. l26, 1929. 1

R. ALDEEN RADIO TUNING DEVLCE A2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1926 Feb. 26, 1929. 1,703,331

R. ALDEEN RADIO TUNING DEVICE Filed Jan, 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.l

BEUBEN ALDEEN, lOIE BOCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TO NATIONAL LOQK C0.. F BOCKFORD, ILLINOIS, .A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

RADIO TUNING DEVICE.

Application led January 25, 1926. Serial No. 83,494.

My invention relates to radio apparatus and particularly to the control mechanism by which the condensers may be adjusted for tuning purposes.

- 6 The object of my invention is to provide ymeans for operating the various condensers from a single control and includes provisions for relative adjustment between the condensers as well as adjustment of the various condensers together as a unit, and also a novel and reliable form of connection between the condensers and the control knob.

In order'to facilitate an understanding of my invention and the apparatus usedv for carrying out the same, reference is directed to the'accompanying drawings, from-which,

when considered in connection with the following description, the construction, opera-` tion, and many of the advantages will be` readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top lan `view of my invention shown in connection with three condensers oi acontinuous wave receiving set,

Fig. 2 is a frontview of thesame,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of thc operatin `device taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and s owing the condenser unit B in side elevation, and l Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 4--4 of Fi .3.

Like symbols o reference indicate lifke parts in each of the fi ures of the drawing.

In the drawings which I have used to illus' trate my invention, I have shown three re= actance units such as the variable type condenser which I have indicated as A, B, and C, and while these units are used for illustrative purposes, I do not limit myself to that exact number nor to the type shown, as various standard condensers which will produce a desired result may be included in the apparatus with satisfying results.

The front. of the apparatus consists of a front wall 11, and the front and rear upright standards 12 and 13 respectively aremounted upon a base plate 14 by screws 16 or in any other suitable manner, and the rotating part of the condenser B is carried on a shaft 17 which extends through a small bushing 18,

and said bushing is secured against the standard 12 b v nuts 19 and 21, so as to provide a bearing for the said shaft. f In front of the 'bushing 18 on the shaft 17 is a sleeve 22 provided with a circumferential groove 23 in which is seated the surrounding wall of an opening in a plate 24, which is connected to the front plate l2, as later described.

The forward end of the shaft 17 is bored and tapped to receive a screw having a tapered head, the end of the shaft bore being similarly tapered and provided With a number of saw cuts 28 extending diametrically thereof, so that the shaft may be expanded by the screwhead. A pulley 29, formed of bakelite or some other electrical nonconduc tor is rotatably carried by the sleeve 22, and has secured on its front face, by any suitable means, an internal gear ring 32, having internal teeth 33 which mesh witha pinion 35 fixed on a shaft 36, and said internal gear ring can be rotated together with the pulley 29 as the shaft 36 extendsv through the partially circumferential opening 37, while the pinion 35 is free to move within the recessed portion 40 in said pulley.

The rear end of the shaft 36 is supported through the sleeve 30 in an opening 30 in the plat-e124, and its forward end extending beyond the front wall 11 has a controlling knob 38 secured there to by a set screw 39. A sleeve 4l surrounding the shaft has secured thereto another operating knob 42, which is secured to the sleeve 41 by anut 43, the outside contour and appearance of the said oper- S ating knobs presenting the appearance of a single unit. Immediately in front of the pulley 29 and the internal gear 32 carried by it is anotherpulley 44 formed preferably of bakelite or some other electrical nonconductor. This pulley is also provided with a ring gear 46 which has internal teeth 33, which in turn mesh with the teeth 47 011 theipinion 48 fixedly secured to the sleeve41 on the shaft 36, so that the same is free to operate through the medium of the control knob 42 and independent of the ring gear 32 connected to the pulley 29. The member 44 is recessed` as at 49, and a bushing 5l extends over the shaft 17 and through the opening 52 in the extended U-shape plate 53 whose vertical legs 54 pass over the plate 24 and are together connected with the standard' 12 through the portions 56 and 57 by means of the screws 58. The recessed portion 49 is further extended so as to form arecess 59 in the member 44 and into this recess fits the finger 61 which has a. circular portion 62 fitting int-o the annular groove 63 in the bushing 51, and a bolt 65, having the sides of itshead tapered as shown at 64 is screwed into the threaded hole 27 at the end ofthe shaft 17, and as the tapered head of said screw bears against the portions of the shaft included between the saw cuts 28, it will tend to press the said material included between said saw cuts outwardly, so as to'securely clamp the bushing 51 to the end of the shaft 17 and thus insure the turning of said shaft when the member 44 is turned.

The pulleys 29 and 44 areeach provided with a rear integral shoulder 66 and 67 respectively while between the said drums and their respective ring gears 32`and 46 are insulating washers 68 and 69, as later expla-ined.

In the front face of the pulley 29 is a slot 70 into which a dowel fpin 7 0, iixedly secured in the rear of the pulley 44, extends, and the lost motion between the walls of the said slots or holes 70 provides for the adjustment between the said pulleys.

The shafts which carry the rotatable plates on the condenser units A and C are each provided With a pulle 71 andz7 2 respectively which have the hu s'73 and 74 formed integrally therewith, and are adapted to he fixedly secured to said shafts by means of the s'et screws 75. Each of these shafts which extend through the front wall 11 are provided with bearing members 76 and 77 which are secured to said shafts between set screws 78, and said bearing members are provided at their extreme forward ends and in front of the frontwall with indicators 87 secured by means of the 'screws 88 extending into the y said' shafts.

The pulley 29 is provided with a steel belt 79 which passes over and around the pulley 71 on the condenser A, and in order to provide for the adjustment of the plates of vthe condenser A with the plates of the condenser B, a U-shaped clamping member 81` is passed over said pulle and fixed securely thereto by the screws or bolts 82, while the'fbelt which passes between the said pulley and the U- shaped member is adjuste to position on the pulley through the set screw 83 in the end thereof, whic when tightened will prevent an slipping of the belt.

he pulley 44 is also provided with a steel belt 84 which passes over the pulley 72 and is provided with a U-sha ed' member 81 for adjusting purposes, and is the same as that which has just been described in connection with the condenser unit A.I

Each of the pulleys 29 and 44 are provided with one on more pins 90 for engaging holes in the belts 79 and 84 to prevent the belts from slipping thereon.

The operation of m improved 'device is as follows: If the con enser units have been previously set so that the exact adjustment has been provided for tuning in on different wave lengths, the control knobs 38 and 42- gear 32 are engaged by the teeth 34 on the pinion 35 operating on the shaft 36 which is 4iiiiedly secured tothe pulley 29, said pulleys will be turned at the same rate of speed, and the pulley 71 on the condenser unit A, and the pulley 72 on the condenser unit C will be both operated at the same rate of speed,

'through the belts 79 and 84, so that the movable plates thereinv will assume the same position with regard to the stationary platesin each of the units A and C.' The finger 61, being firmly set in the recess 59, and its circular portion 62 being clamped securely to the shaft 17 by means of the screw 65, pressing the portions of said shaft between the saw cuts 28 outwardly, the said shaft17 and the movable plates-on the condenser unit B connected therewith, will, in likel manner, be turned simultaneously with the shafts carrying the moving plates on the` kcondenserunitsAv and C.

If, however, it is desired to operate the condenser unit A and the condenser units B and C independent of each other, in order to" secure an adjustment for any given wave length, the operating knob 38 is turned so as to turn the shaft 36 which will .rotate the pinion 35 whose teeth 34 mesh with the teeth 33 on the internal gear 32, and the said internal gear being lixedly mounted on the pulleys 29, the said pulley will be rotated so as to move the belt 79 which in turn will operate the pulley 71 on the shaft of the condenser unit A, and thus. turn the rotatable plates therein. After this, adjustment has been secured, the operator Amay then turn the operating knob 42 which turns the sleeve 31 on which the pinion 48 is located, so that the teeth 47 on the internal gear 46 are moved thereby, and as the said internal ear is fixedly secured to the pulley 44, the lt 84 carried thereon will bemoved so as to operate the pulley72 carried on the shaft upon which the movable plates of the condenser unit C are located. During the rotation of the pulley 44, the finger 61 which is locatedin the recess 549 haslikewise been rotated, jand as the said finger is iii'iedly secured to the shaft 17 through thev medium of the screw 65, as hereinbefore explained, the movableJ lates which are connected to the said shaft 1 will be moved in unison 'with'the yplates on the condenser unit C.

loo

' Itis believed that my improved tuning 1 device-and a preferred means 'for carrying the invention into effect and its advantages will be appreciated from the foregoing specification without further description, and it will be manifest that the structural details illustrated and described may be variedwith- 4in wide limitswithout exceeding the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim: v y

l. A radiovtuning device comprising a pluralitly; of variable reactance units, a shaft for eac unit, one of said shafts having a sleeve, pulleys'on Ysaid, sleeve, a pulley on each ofthe shafts of the other umts, means operatively connecting each of the last named pulleys with'one of the pulleys on said sleeve, aninternal gear ring on each of the pulleys on said sleeve, and means engaging said gear rings to operate said other units. A

2. A radio 'tuning ydevice comprising a I plurality of variable reactance units, a shaft for each unit, one of said shafts having a sleeve, pulleys on said sleeve, a pulley on each of the shafts of the other units, means operatively connecting each of the last named 'pulleys with one of the pulleys on said sleeve,

an internal gear ring on each of the pulleys on said sleeve, a shaft havinga pinion engaging one of said. gear rings to .operate the pul-y ley to which it is connected, a sleeve on-said shaft, a plmon on said sleeve engagmg an# other of said gear rings to operate the pulley to which it is connected,yand means on said shaft and sleeve to independently operate them to adjust the units.

-3. A radio tuning device comprising a plurality of variable reactance units, a shaft for each unit, One of said shafts havingr a sleeve, pulleys on said sleeve, a pulley on each of the shafts of the otherumts, means operatively connecting each of the last named pulleys with one of the pulleys on said sleeve, means providin lost motion between the pulleys on said s eeve, and a single unit control member for operating the pulleys on said sleeve to operate said other units, said member having a relatively adjustable part thereof separately connected to one of said pulleys to provide relative adjustment between the ulleys on said sleeve.

4. A railio tuning device comprising a plurality of variable reactance units, a shaft for each unit, pulle s on one of said shafts, a pulley on each o the shafts of the,other units, means operably connectin each of the last named ulleys with one o the pulleys on the first s aft, a gear ring on each of the pulleys on the first shaft, and means engaging said gear rings to operate said other units.

5. A radio tuning device comprising a plurality of variable reactance units a shaft or each unit, pulle s on one of said shafts, a pulley on each o the shafts of the other umts, means operatively connectin each of thelast named pulleys with one o the pullevs on said first shaft, a gear rin on each of the pulleys on said first shaft, a s aft having a pinion engaging one of said gear rings to operate its respective pulley, a sleeve on y REUBEN ALDEEN. 

